Last Days with the Grandparents

Once we arrived home from San Diego, we just spent the last few days of Mom and Dad's visit here in Fresno. On Friday we spent the day doing laundry, sitting outside, playing in the sandbox, going for walks, just enjoying each other's company. Kezia had a tea party with Grandma and Joel went to fly his new kite with Grandpa. Kezia also had the privilege of her Grandma AND Grandpa braiding her hair. What lucky girl! That night Carl, Mom, Dad, and I played Sequence and Dad and I won. We are an amazing team, so all you game players, BEWARE!

On Saturday, Mom and I went to buy fabric so that I could start making a rag quilt for a friend (it's a surprise, so I won't name her, tee hee). It was quite fun browsing through all the fabric and finally choosing one with Mom. After we got home, Mom and Dad went grocery shopping for supper the next day. They were going to make a special supper for us on Sunday.

The next day, after church, we took some nice pictures of the kids and Mom and Dad by the fountain. We had a light lunch and then during the afternoon Mom and Dad went with Carl to pick some oranges for Mom and Dad to take home. Apparently it's possible to bring citrus back into Canada, (and later we found out that they had no problem crossing the border with their oranges).

Asha cuddled with Grandma before supper and Kezia enjoyed applying lip gloss to Grandpa's lips. Everybody needs moisturizer! Mom and Dad made a lovely meal for us; BBQ beef, platano, spanish rice, coleslaw, and pastries for dessert. We ate outside and the sun was warm and the breeze was comfortable.

That evening we all prayed before the kids went to bed and later Mom and I did a bit of quilting while Carl and Dad visited. Joel was quiet and acting strange that evening, I think because he was trying to deal with saying goodbye.
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The next morning we all got up, the kids clad in their pajamas, and piled into the van. Once we got to the airport, it was hard not to cry. We had had such a great visit with Mom and Dad. The kids bonded so much with their grandparents and it was so special for us to see that. I appreciated all the support and the help that Mom and Dad gave. It was so wonderful not to have to make every meal and wash all the dishes (simply because Carl is gone writing his thesis). Having 4 adults for 3 kids was also so nice! I loved the fact that the kids wanted to do things with their grandparents and Carl and I could sit back, relax and watch and smile. And we were so appreciative of the trip to San Diego that Mom and Dad took us on.

After many hugs and kisses we had to let them go through airport security. Carl and I already spilled out tears and as Grandma and Grandpa walked away, Kezia started to whimper and Joel's eyes got misty. We watched them in line for a while and then we made our way back to our van.

Our hearts were so full. There was not one part of the visit that made us tired or bored or cramped....each and every moment was so special (and Dad we aren't just saying that because you are reading this!). We were so glad that Mom and Dad came down to spend time with us; we've never spent that much time together, just the 7 of us. They saw our life here in Fresno and we had the chance to reconnect. What a special time, a time that we will cherish forever.
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On the Road with Grandma and Grandpa

Thursday March 6th marked the end of our wonderful holiday with Grandma and Grandpa. We woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel before we packed our bags and made our way north. It was a leisurely morning as we drove, everyone was happy and content. We stopped in Oceanside CA to spend time at the amazing beach and to walk along the longest pier off the Pacific ocean. The water wasn't as warm as it is in South America, so Dad didn't end up diving into the water for a swim, but everyone enjoyed splashing in the surf.

As we walked along the pier, we stopped and watched the surfers taking their turns on the waves. It was quite fascinating. We spent about an hour and a half at the beach before we headed back to the van to hunt for a restaurant. We drove around a bit until we spotted El Pollo Loco, and decided to take a chance and try it out. It was really good "fast food" Mexican style, and we were all very impressed.
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After lunch, we hopped back into the van and the kids dropped off to sleep. We arrived home about 6:30 and because of our large lunch, just ended up having tomato soup for supper. It was a really good trip and I was feeling glad to be home; my pillow felt so wonderful! It was such a blessing for us to have been able to take a special trip with Mom and Dad.

Tijuana, Aquí venimos!

On Wednesday the 5th, the Heppner's piled into the big white van and headed south. There's not much left of California past San Diego, but we were headed for Mexico! It was very exciting. We parked the van and took a shuttle across the border. You can see the arch in Tijuana from San Diego, that's how close the cities are from each other. There was no issue going into Mexico at all, no security check, no passports to show. Once we arrived in the bus terminal, there was so much to buy, but it was only the beginning.

The vendors in Tijuana depend heavily on tourists coming and buying something Mexican. Every shopkeeper was out soliciting us to come into their store. I couldn't even make eye contact before they yelled, "C'mon in! Free parking! Free Childcare, Everything almost free!". After a while I was getting tired of it, but I really wanted to shop! And then there was Dad conversing in Spanish (he was so thrilled), but it made it really hard to keep walking without getting corralled into their shop. Well, I ended up going into a store because I saw some pretty things and I ended up buying two dresses, one for Asha and one for Kezia. I managed to get the price down by $15 in my broken Spanish. Yeah!

Carl bought himself a Mexican shirt (for $10 less than the asking price) and Joel a soccer shirt and jersey (at a Canadian discount of $15). Mom found some really nice sandals, vanilla, and a purse while Dad found a great belt. While we all had a wonderful time shopping, that was only part of why we came down to Mexico.
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We came to Mexico for authentic Mexican food...Yum! For lunch we went to a great little place that served awesome salsa, frijoles, enchiladas, tacos, and rice. It was so good! Dad paid a group to sing two songs for us while we ate our meal.

By mid afternoon we were getting tired and Mom and Dad had had good opportunities to practice their Spanish, so we headed back to the bus depot to catch the shuttle back to the US. We got on the bus and drove to the border. This time however, security was pretty tight. There was a line about 2 miles long of people walking across the border (lots of day tourists like us and probably many Mexicans), but thankfully we didn't have to wait at the end of the line. We got in a line right in the building, one of about 12 and waited for the border guards to check our passports; after, we had our bags x-rayed and searched. We had brought a few apples and oranges in from San Diego, but because of agricultural regulations, we couldn't bring them back across the border! How sad it was to see our oranges taken away, their fate, the trash can.

Once we got back to the hotel, we had a rest before we went for supper at this tasty little pizza place. It was located right near the water, and so after supper, even though it was dark, we walked along the beach boardwalk a bit before heading back and into our beds. It was a very nice day, it couldn't have been better. Well, the pillows could have been a bit more comfortable, eh Dad?!

San Diego Sea World

On Monday the 3rd after a good sleep, we packed up our things into Kevin and Rhonda's big passenger van and headed off down the #5 Interstate to Los Angeles and San Diego. It was beautiful weather for driving. We stopped for lunch at Subway and sat outside in the sun. Later on, we stopped again, just south of Los Angeles at a beach and had some leisure time. We got to our hotel around 4 p.m. and I was impressed at how nice it was. The Dana Hotel was right on the ocean and had two outdoor pools. We settled in and then went for a dip in the pool. Asha had her first experience in a pool, an outdoor one in March! She wasn't that thrilled, and unfortunately got really spooked by Joel and his googly goggles. Oops! So she didn't stay in the water for very long. That evening we went to the hotel restaurant and had great food. Dad raved about the chicken quesadillas and I had awesome fish in chips; of course you have to have seafood if you are on the coast. That night we settled in for a comfortable sleep, except for the pillows....they were not that great.

The next morning we woke up and had muffins and cinnamon buns in our hotel room before catching the shuttle to Sea World. Joel and Kezia were very excited about seeing the whales. Dad bought us all annual passes, since they were the same price as the day passes. But because of such stringent security (taking photo ID and fingerprinting all of us!), we knew we wouldn't be able to pass on our passes to someone else once we left CA. Oh well. We figured we probably would come down at least once more before heading back to Canada.

The shows at Sea World were so impressive. Joel stood up for the entire Shamu the Killer Whale show and watched intently. We opted out of sitting in the soak zone, but had a good chuckle seeing people get completely soaked by the dolphins and whales; I think they figured they would just get sprinkled. Even Asha enjoyed the shows. Kezia's highlight was seeing the huge turtles (just like the ones in Nemo!) and Joel's highlight was seeing the dolphins jumping. I enjoyed watching the sea lions holler for fish and the cute penguins. We also walked through aquarium tunnels and had sharks swim over us; that was a bit unnerving. The eels were creepy and the beluga whales were beautiful. We spent the entire day there and at the end, even though we were all warm and tired, no one was cranky!

After we got back to our hotel, we had a bit of a rest before heading to supper. The restaurant wasn't as nice as the one we ate at the night before. And after supper, we went for a little drive and picked up doughnuts. Dad was excited about ordering in Spanish and the kids were just thrilled with the treats. We headed back to our rooms and fell into our beds. The next day had more adventures in store for us...Spanish adventures.

Celebrating Joel and Soh

On Sunday, Makiko and I hosted a birthday party for our two sons. Joel turned five on the 24th of February and Soh the 26th. In actuality because Soh was born in Japan and Joel in Manitoba, the boys are only one day apart in age.

After church, Mom and I headed to Sears to pick up Joel's pictures and then we went to buy a pinata for the party. Once we go back, we iced the cake I made and I went over to Makiko's to make sushi. I had never rolled sushi before and I managed not to make a mess. Makiko also made chicken and bbq salmon and vegetables.
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We had a the birthday supper outside in the courtyard and we all enjoyed a feast. It was special that Joel's Grandma and Grandpa could be at the party. The boys were thrilled with all their gifts, but were especially excited about taking the huge stick and whacking the pinata. All the kids had at least 3 tries before the belly of the ship was destroyed and candy rained down over the already hyper children. And then Makiko passed out the goodie bags we made with even more candy. What were we thinking?!

The party ended by mid evening and Joel opened a few more presents from his Aunties and Uncles from Winnipeg. Then we managed to get Joel and Kezia into bed before the sugar rush hit and then Mom, Dad, Carl and I cleaned up all the gifts and food preparation dishes. After that was complete, we all went to pack up our bags for our 4 day trip that was only hours away!
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Blossoms and Snow Banks

On Saturday we tried out the juicer with oranges that Dad picked that morning, and the orange juice was wonderful. How did we get along here without a juicer for so long? Then we packed up our things and headed off towards Kingsburg. We weaved our way east of Fresno through the blossom trail. It was just beautiful. We saw almond, peach, apricot, nectarine, and plum trees blooming. The smell was something else, nothing could be sweeter.

We stopped in Kingsburg and had Mexican food, a definite must for a California trip. After lunch, we headed towards the Sierra Nevada into Sequoia National Park. The roads were clear, but there was snow up at the high elevation. The fog had rolled in, so we weren't able to see the view on the way up and I was a bit worried that the thick fog would prevent us from seeing the tall trees. But as we made our way up, the sun burned away the fog long enough for us to marvel at the huge Sequoias. We had nice photo shoot by our friend General Sherman. There was substantially more snow than when we went with Byron and Kristal and all the fencing around the tree was completely covered.
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By late afternoon, it was time to head back and so I sat in the back seat between Joel and Kezia. I don't know if it was the road or being squished in the back, but I felt pretty car sick. Mom was feeling a bit woozy as well and I was trying to think if we had any plastic bags in the van. Ack....but I managed just fine and so did Mom and we made it home splatter free.

We were all pretty tired, so after some Fiesta soup, we got ready for bed and retired a bit earlier. Tomorrow was church, and a special birthday party!

What a Great 100th Post

It's been a while since I have made a post about the Heppner Happenings. And it so happens that this is my 100th post. Wow! Where has the time gone? I was thinking I would do "100 Things I've learned here on our Fresno Adventure" but then I decided that I would keep you up to date on our adventures and save that for post 200...well maybe.

On the 28th, Carl's parents came for a 10 day visit. Since we did so many things, I will chronicle their stay in a few posts. Now usually, I get pretty stressed out about having company; I have to plan the meals for the entire stay, stock my fridge and pantry, clean every corner, sort through junk and take it away etc. etc., but this time, I did the necessary tasks, and then left the rest. That way I could feel refreshed and relaxed by the time our guests arrived, instead of stressed and overtired!

When we picked up Mom and Dad from the airport, I was just about bursting with excitement. Joel and Kezia ran to their Grandma and Grandpa for hugs and Carl and I brought up the rear with Asha. It was such a special reunion! And I was thrilled that Asha didn't make strange at all. We got them home, unpacked their things and visited a bit before we prayed with the kids and sent them to bed.

The next morning we had a lovely breakfast and then showed Mom and Dad around the campus. The kids chatted merrily to their grandparents. For lunch (since I hadn't made a menu plan), we improvised and had pot stickers and veggies....and I wasn't even stressed about it at all. My parents in law have this calming effect on me I guess!

In the afternoon, Carl, Joel, and Kezia took Mom and Dad for a drive around Fresno while I stayed home with Asha. Mom and Dad spent part of the afternoon outside chatting with our neighbours and soaking up the warm California sun; it was beautiful weather, about 22 degrees. That evening after supper, Kezia helped Grandma wash the dishes and the kids settled in with Grandpa for a story. With Grandma here, Asha had her first taste of ice cream and LOVED it. Carl's Dad was excited about the thought of having freshly squeezed juice from freshly picked oranges, so him and Carl went and bought a juicer at Walmart that night!

I was so thankful that they were here and I knew it was going to be a wonderful visit.
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